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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. face — to confront
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stock — shares
  5. present — there
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pit — in a race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mark — a grade
  11. present — the time now
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pit — a hole
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — child
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. present — a gift
  21. stock — goods
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. face — to point toward

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com